Chemical Engineering Professor, Dr. Joe Stanzione, receives NJDEP Recycling Enhancement Act (REA) Research Grant

Dr. Joe Stanzione, Chemical Engineering Professor and Director of the Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) at Rowan University, has been awarded a two-year, US$200K Recycling Enhancement Act (REA) research grant from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. The grant, titled “Re-Glassing Glassboro: Rowan University Glass Recycling Initiative”, enables Dr. Stanzione and his multidisciplinary team to collaborate with Bottle Underground, a Philadelphia non-profit glass recirculation organization, to create a more sustainable framework for redirecting and recirculating post-consumer waste glass material generated on Rowan’s campus to productive end markets, including local glass packaging manufacturers.

Courtesy: Bottle Underground

Rowan University is located in the Glassboro area that is known historically for its glass-making industry and glass continues to be manufactured in the region. However, the NJ Recycled Content Law will soon require manufacturers to increase the amount of post-consumer recycled material in their manufactured glass products to at least 35%. In addition, Glassboro has been identified as an Overburdened Community (>50% combined stressor level based on 26 environmental and public health markers) under the NJ Environmental Justice Law. Thus, the project seeks to help local industries meet state regulations and also to help drive changes that can positively impact environmental conditions in the Glassboro region.

The project plans to engage a diverse group of stakeholders at Rowan University – including faculty and students from various disciplines in Art, Engineering, Geology, Geography, Planning & Sustainability, and the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum – to work collaboratively with Bottle Underground. Integrated with the technical aspects of the project are education and outreach activities, including demos and exhibits at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum. Overall, the project aims to “put Glass back in Glassboro”.